


damaged

by orphan_account



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, PJO Ship Weeks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-18
Updated: 2014-08-18
Packaged: 2018-02-13 07:11:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2141817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Gaea, Percy spends his days staring out at the lake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	damaged

**Author's Note:**

> so my contribution for free friendship week was supposed to be percy and piper pranking leo, but this happened instead. (also, piper can't draw and everyone in the universe should read Graceling)

After Gaea, Percy spends his days staring out at the lake. He doesn't eat unless someone force-feeds it to him, and doesn't sleep unless someone takes him to his cabin and puts his head on a pillow. Even then, he is jerked out of sleep after an hour or so by a vicious nightmare, and someone has to go comfort him.

That someone is usually Piper.

She stays with him every day. In the morning, she brings their breakfasts and a book down to the lake behind the cabins.

"Hey, Perce," she says. She sits next to him and places an apple in his hand. "I'm reading a book called Graceling today. I started it last night, remember? I told you it was about Katsa, the girl with different colored eyes."

There's no reply, as usual, so she settles down to read.

At noon, she goes to get some lunch for both of them. She sits back down next to him and gives him a sandwich.

"I was thinking of IM-ing Frank or Hazel. Or Reyna. Would you like that?"

No answer.

"Because," she continues, "I haven't talked to them in a while. We might even be able to go visit them soon. Nico's coming next week. He could take us."

Still no answer.

 

Staying with Percy means that she doesn't keep up with the rest of the camp. At night sometimes, the others in her cabin are talking about the next Capture the Flag game, the Hunters of Artemis' next visit, then the conversation inevitably turns to the battle against Gaea and the giants. The losses suffered, the heroes, the damaged. Sometimes the children of Aphrodite fall silent and stare at Piper. She just turns over in bed to face the wall.

 

"Hey, Perce. Nico just got to Camp. He was exhausted, but I think he'll be out in a while. Also, Thalia and the Hunters are getting here later today. You excited?"

No answer.

"Eat your apple, dude."

Still nothing. She takes his hand gently and guides it towards his mouth.

"Eat," she says quietly.

 

"Hey, Perce. Merry Christmas," she says one day. Instead of an apple, she pushes a small box into his hand. "I made it," she explains. "It's not very good, but I hope you like it."

Surprisingly, his hands move of his own accord to unwrap the present. It's a necklace, not unlike his camp one, with seven painted clay beads.

The first is light blue with a white lightning bolt. The second is brown, blue and green, with a red heart. The third is a colorful gray, with and slightly mangled-looking owl head in the middle. The fourth is a deep sea green, with a teardrop of water. The fifth is a sort of hazelnut brown with what is obviously supposed to be a flame on it. The sixth is gold, with a lopsided silver gemstone. The last is an unusual shade of black with a blob roughly in the shape of an elephant head.

"It's us," Piper said. "I, uh, didn't really know what to do for Frank, but him turning into an elephant was pretty impressive, so...yeah. Do you want me to put it on?"

No answer.

"Okay." She takes the necklace from him and ties it around his neck. "There."

 

"Hey, Perce. Happy New Year."

"Hey, Piper."

The words startle her out of her book. Percy's voice is hoarse from disuse, but it's there. It's there, and he said hi, and Piper thinks that the new year is off to a good start.


End file.
